Sleeping Beauty

 

Photo by Jordan Heath on Unsplash

     "Don't need a hero to save me. I'm not a girl to set free" Hold my Heart - Lindsey Stirling

     "I like stories where women save themselves" Neil Gaiman

     He was almost through the thicket. He had spent days working through it slashing at the thorns. His black hair was tousled and his face was perspiring from the effort. The beautiful princess would make it all worth it. She was rumored to be under a sleeping spell. He wasn't sure how to wake her up,  but he would think of something. He was hoping to secure a match for his kingdom. It had to be a princess and the last few were very....disappointing. This one was rumored to be beautiful and wealthy.

     He could finally see the castle interior through the shrubbery. The gray stone and marble gave the aura of a mausoleum rather than a castle. All was still and layers of dust covered the curtains hanging from the windows. He squeezed through the branches into the castle hall. He wasn't sure which direction she was in. He lit a torch and headed down the hall.

     At the end of the hall, he saw a glow emitting from one of the rooms. As he entered the room, he saw her. The room smelled of fresh cut roses. He saw her resting on the stone slab. She had creamy skin with flushed cheeks. Her blond hair cascaded around her shoulders. She was really as lovely as she was rumored to be.

     He approached her. He wondered how to wake her up. He tried poking her shoulder, but she remained asleep. He pulled his lyre from his satchel. He played for a bit hoping that the sound would awaken her. He played beautifully and he didn't see the smile briefly flicker on her face. He returned the lyre to his bag and brought out smelling salts. Ugh, they were awful and he started choking. He was distracted by the choking and didn't notice that she giggled a little. He paced the floor trying to decide how he would wake her up. Well, he WAS a prince and when all else failed he would need to use the power of his kiss. He placed his hand in front of his mouth and checked to make sure his breath was minty fresh. He bent over to gently kiss her beautiful pink lips. 

     He felt her lips against his and suddenly she kissed him passionately. She laughed and grabbed his hands to raise herself to a sitting position before she straddled him making him forget his mission. "Have you been awake the entire time?" he asked as he breathlessly continued kissing her. "Yes, I was able to outsmart the witch's spell. I had blood from the kitchen which I used to show that I had pricked my finger. Then I ate a bit of Foxglove so that I would be unconscious, but not really asleep" she said. She had been living in the castle the entire time.

     "So, you don't need saving?" he asked, disappointment clearly on his face. 

     She shook her head and said, I like you, so can we be together anyway?" 

     He looked grim "My purpose in life is to save a beautiful princess and take her to my castle and care for her." 

     She rolled her eyes, "Your purpose in life is to love me with all of your heart and support me. I need your strength, but I don't need a hero." 

     He maneuvered got up from the marble. "I can't be with someone who doesn't need saving, it doesn't feel right." He grabbed his satchel and left the castle. She sighed, this was the fifth prince so far. One day she would find one that did not need to be her hero and just wanted to hold her heart as it was.